It’s all your fault / It’s not my fault 2014

Can you see the text in this work transform as you move from one side to the other? Perspective is a core theme in the practice of New York artist Hank Willis Thomas. Here, the meaning of the work changes depending on our own perspective and reminds us that there are always two sides to a story.

Through his practice Thomas seeks to raise awareness for social justice and civil rights. He has also co-founded a number of collaborative projects including For Freedoms, an artist-led organisation for creative civic engagement in America.

I see art, history and politics in everything … My grandmother was a beautician. That’s an art form. Cooking is an art form. I try to encourage people who don’t see themselves as artists to think creatively.

– Hank Willis Thomas, 2019

New proverb sign 2021

These protest signs by artist and political activist Paul Chan were created in response to the recent tide of anti-Asian hate crimes, which have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. They are part of a group of New Proverbs signs, which Chan first produced for the Million Women’s March in Washington D.C. and New York in 2017. He has since also created protest signs for use in LGBTIQA+ solidarity and anti-gun violence rallies.

The design of the signs is inspired by the posters of Westboro Baptist Church, a notorious, homophobic hate group in America. Sales of the sign were donated to Heart of Dinner, a non-profit in New York dedicated to combating food insecurity and isolation within NYC’s elderly Asian-American community.

Flag 11, Ah Saw 1914 2020

Like the portraits for his famous Aussie street poster campaign, Adelaide-based artist and activist Peter Drew found these photographs of Ah Saw in the National Archives of Australia. In 1914 Ah Saw applied for an exemption to a dictation test that was introduced as part of the White Australia policy in 1901. It required arrivals to Australia to write fifty words in any European language, as dictated by an immigration officer. After 1905, the officer could choose any language at all. A Chinese immigrant, for example, could be asked to write fifty words in French, Italian or another language. Even returning residents who were born in Australia could be asked to take the test, which would today be seen as racial discrimination and profiling.

Biden beats Trump (November 8, 2020) 2021

Since 2005, Fred Tomaselli has been transforming front pages of The New York Times with gouache and collage, creating surreal compositions that reflect on the absurdity of news cycles and respond to a variety of issues – from regional anecdotes to global crises. This print was created in response to The New York Times’s front-page coverage of the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

While the image contains nods to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the overall sentiment, with bright stripes of colour radiating from the iconic ‘fist bump’, is one of profound optimism. A third of the proceeds from the sale of this print was donated to Fair Fight, an organisation founded in 2018 to address voter suppression in the United States.

Remain 2018

Activism can come in many forms, including through poetry, music and film. In this video work, Hoda Afshar addresses Australia’s contentious border protection policy and the human rights of asylum seekers. Filmed on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea, the work follows a group of stateless men who remained on the island following the closure of the infamous immigration detention centre in October 2017. The centre housed people who had fled other countries and were seeking asylum in Australia. Rather than make a straightforward ‘documentary’ work, Afshar used the language of poetry, performance and song in this work. She says, this ‘forces the viewer to confront their own incomprehension, as well as the very inexplicableness of the situation that these men face’.

One of the stateless men in Afshar’s video is Behrouz Boochani, a Kurdish Iranian writer, activist and refugee who spent six years on Manus Island. During this time he published poems and articles online about life in the centre and became a spokesperson for the men in his compound.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees a ‘stateless’ person is someone who is not considered as a national by any state. What does it mean to ‘belong’ to a nationality, and what rights might be denied to stateless persons?

Rainbow flag 1978 designed, 2018 manufactured

Rainbow flag is a widely recognised emblem of pride and activism for the LGBTQI+ community. Each of the six coloured stripes represents a different meaning: red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, green for nature, blue for serenity and violet for spirit. The flag was conceived by Gilbert Baker, a San Francisco–based activist and designer who created it for the city’s Gay Freedom Day Parade, held on 25 June 1978. Baker refused to trademark his design so it would remain in the public domain, making it freely available for anyone to use. This unrestricted access has contributed significantly to the adoption of the rainbow by LGBTQI+ communities around the world and has been applied to everything from stationery to social media image filters.

An ‘open source’ design is one that is freely available for anyone to use. There is a global movement to make software and other useful designs open source.
This movement challenges the notion that design is purely a commercial act. If you could design something to share with others freely – what would it be?

The Truth hurts 2020

Richard Bell is a contemporary artist and activist whose work is underpinned by a direct and unsettling satirical humour and a sharp political edge that attests to a lifelong commitment to Aboriginal social justice, land rights and sovereignty. This work is a telling response to the Black/Blak Lives Matter movement, as Bell states: ‘The global reaction to the US Black Lives Matter movement has been phenomenal. It appears that the US has reached a kind of reckoning where so many of their people are saying enough is enough. There was pushback to that, like the emergence of the racist response that is All Lives Matter. This just happens to coincide with a President of the United States whose tally of lies during his term in office is in excess of 20,000’.

Last the blast 2006

Susan Cohn explores the politics and power embedded in the making and wearing of jewellery. Last the blast is a ‘bombproof’ necklace containing the identification details of the wearer alongside a personal message. In the event of being caught in a bomb blast, the necklace would protect this information, offering the wearer a lasting ‘voice’. Cohn says: ‘that piece came from watching an interview … with parents who had lost a daughter in the [2002] Bali bombings. And they were saying that they didn’t have anything left of their daughter … What if I made something that could send a message back?’ This work exemplifies the capacity of jewellery to act as both a symbolic and a functional object.

Jewellery has long been part of the way people express their individuality. Can you think of ways that jewellery can make a social statement?

A strategy to infiltrate the homes of the bourgeoisie 2005

Forty-five letters spell out the title of this work, which explores ideas of class and the Situationist International, a political and artistic movement active in Europe from 1957 through to 1972. Emily Floyd was inspired by spatial strategies they employed, in particular around the 1968 student demonstrations in Paris. Their ideas of occupying space with language and text have influenced her work, as has the way they engaged with the concept of class, taking aim at bourgeois, or middle class, institutions such as marriage, religion and private property. Floyd creates works that suggest how contemporary art can function as an educational platform for stimulating debate about social, political and cultural ideas. As you walk around the letters, consider your own relationship to the ideas in the work.

Emily Floyd asks viewers to engage with ideas of class which she says we don’t always think about in Australia. Are there different classes in Australian society?

How is this evident and what are the factors that lead to divisions? How might we reduce the inequalities and divisions between groups? Is it possible to have a classless society?

The landing 2018

Senior Victorian painter and Elder Marlene Gilson depicts Lieutenant James Cook’s landing at Botany Bay, and the people of the Eora Nation who encountered them. The scene is populated with ships, figures, trees and animals, and is imbued with a foreboding sense of drama, as a turning point in the nation’s history commences. Drawing inspiration from illustrations on biscuit tins, Indian miniatures and small dolls’ houses, Gilson has provided an Indigenous perspective on the story of colonisation in anticipation of the 250th anniversary of Cook’s landing in 1770.

Guerrilla Girls Portfolio Compleat 1985–2012 + Upgrade 2012–2016 1985–2016

The Guerrilla Girls are a group of anonymous female artists who produce posters, stickers, books and videos that expose sexism and racism in politics, the art world and culture at large. The group formed in 1985 in reaction and protest to the exhibition An International Survey of Recent Painting and Sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Of the 165 artists in the exhibition, only thirteen were women. An even smaller number were artists of colour, none of whom were women. They call themselves ‘the conscience of the art world’ and the group’s members protect their individual identities by wearing gorilla masks during public appearances and by adopting the names of deceased female icons, such as Edmonia Lewis, Käthe Kollwitz and Frida Kahlo.

Why do you think the artists prefer to remain anonymous? Think about ways in which anonymity could either help or hinder the artists’ intention? What other forms of anonymous protest can you think of?

Menorah, beacon of hope 2018

Reimaging the traditional seven-chambered Jewish menorah, a lantern filled with consecrated olive oil, Huang has created a seven-slot revolver barrel loaded with bullet-shaped candles. While referencing the militarisation between Israel and Palestine, hope persists – as the candles burn, they leave empty casings, vases to hold flowers as a symbol of renewal. This work was produced for the 2018 exhibition Decoding Design, which explored how design can be used to reflect on traditions, confront stereotypes and consider alternative ways of interpreting the world around us. The exhibition invited German architect Manuel Canestrini, Israeli industrial designer Ilan El, and Chinese-born designer Yan Huang to produce new work that reinterpreted traditional objects from each other’s cultures.

Honey, have you got it? 1994 from the Rainbow Aphorism series 1994

David McDiarmid was an artist, designer and gay activist, and his work engages with issues relating to queer identity and history. Created in the years before his death of AIDS-related illnesses, the Rainbow Aphorisms series was produced by McDiarmid in response to the political, emotional and medical conditions of the AIDS epidemic. In this series, McDiarmid references the rainbow flag (first designed by Gilbert Baker) and the coded language of gay male urban subcultures. He uses aphorisms in his work, which are witty or pointed statements meant to emphasise an underlying truth. Other aphorisms from the series include So many pills so little time sweet; I’m too sexy for my T-cells; and Don’t ask, don’t tell, die alone.

‘I never saw art as being a safe thing.
I know that exists but that’s not something that involves me.’
– David McDiarmid, 1993

The Rainbow Aphorisms series shows how posters can be used as instruments for activism, as well as protest, encouraging change by drawing attention to marginalised or underrepresented communities.
Do you need to take risks in art to make a difference? What risks would this artist have taken in his work?

Crown Land (till the ends of the earth) 2020

Crown Land (till the ends of the earth) utilises recognisable religious iconography as its foundation. It references the story of St George and the dragon from the Middle Ages, and the narrative of the soldier who kills the dragon, symbolising the defeat of evil. In this work, the soldier is replaced by a young Aboriginal woman battling the formidable dragon. Crown Land considers the pressures placed on First Peoples and their communities imposed by colonialism, highlighting government policies such as the Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER), which is still in effect today, as well as exploitative mining industries and the local ramifications of global conflicts. The central figure represents strength, persistence, beauty, resistance and the everyday heroism of Aboriginal people today.

In 2017 First Nations representatives released ‘The Uluru Statement From the Heart’ seeking reform and recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in the Australian Constitution. Since its release, support for the Statement has been growing.

in Pursuit of Venus 2015

Lisa Reihana’s live-action video is a reclamation of culture, inspired by the colonial nineteenth-century panoramic wallpaper, Les Sauvages de la Mer Pacifique (1804–05), produced by entrepreneur Joseph Dufour in Neoclassical France. Reihana employs twenty-first-century digital technologies to animate and reclaim the wallpaper, re-examining its conceptual framework and challenging historical and contemporary stereotypes. She creates a vast panoramic field populated by myriad First Nations people from throughout the Pacific and New Zealand. Where Les Sauvages was a fantasy that reflected the European obsession with ancient Greece, in Pursuit of Venus is enlivened with the sights and sounds of dance and cultural ceremonies enacted by Mäori and Pacific Islander performers.

Refugee flag 2016 designed, 2018 manufactured

Flags are powerful symbols. They are used to identify nations, communities and organisations, and to demonstrate solidarity or belonging. Yara Said designed the Refugee flag as a unifying symbol for the Refugee Olympic Team – the first ever team of stateless refugee athletes who competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The flag design references the orange and black colouring of a standard issue life vest. Said says of the flag, ‘black and orange is a symbol of solidarity with all these brave souls that had to cross the sea to look for safety in a new country. Since I had to wear one I also have a personal engagement with the life vests, with these two colours’.

If you could design your own flag, one that represents your life experiences, values or community, what would it look like? What colours and designs would it incorporate and how could you use it to inspire change?

We demand justice for Francisco Ramirez, José Luis Ramirez and Alvaro Jacinto, who were killed by MULT-PUP – UBISORT-PRI paramilitaries (Exigimos justicia para Francisco Ramirez, José Luis Ramirez y Alvaro Jacinto, quienes fueron asesinados por paramilitares del MULT-PUP – UBISORT-PRI) 2012 from the Exercises on Selective Mutism series 2012

In this work the artist Joaquin Segura has recovered a found object – a canvas banner discarded after a protest in Mexico City – and transformed it into a sculpture by applying layers of white paint to its once-coloured surface. Covering up the banner’s original political message is key to the work’s meaning. By painting the banner white, Segura is referring to ‘whitewashing’, a term used to describe the act of deliberately hiding incriminating information about something or someone. Segura is making a statement about the efforts of some people to silence others or to stop them from protesting or speaking up, through omitting or erasing information, or spreading misinformation. He also questions art’s potential to make political claims or to challenge authority.

Can we initiate change – positive or negative – by covering or concealing information, knowledge or the words of others?

Coloured stones (Pavés colorés) 2015

Pascale Marthine Tayou often composes his works with objects he comes across while walking on the streets of cities around the world. The paving stones that make up this sculpture reference times of social unrest. During the May 1968 student protests in Paris, for example, stones such as these were ripped out of the streets and used to build barricades or as weapons against police and anti-revolutionary forces. The work demonstrates how everyday objects like paving stones can prompt us to think about change when considered in a specific context: in this case, the role of the stones in big moments in the history of human protest.

How could you change an everyday object to give it new potency or meaning, and to make it a symbol of protest or activism?

Coloured vases 2015

For this work Ai Weiwei collected Chinese Neolithic vases that are thousands of years old and dipped each pot into industrial paint. Through this action, of ‘corrupting’ part of China’s cultural heritage with an industrial layer from today, he shows how the past and present are linked and asks us to question what makes something culturally valuable and what we consider to be real or authentic. Like history itself, what is underneath the paint is, as the artist says, ‘no longer visible, but is still there’. Ai uses art to address some of the most urgent global issues of the twenty-first century, such as the relationship between tradition and modernity (how old and new customs and ways of living come together and the tensions or difficulties that can arise from this), human rights and the value of freedom of expression.

How can a painted vase be an object of activism?

Due to NGV procedures regarding light sensitive objects, this work has been removed from display for the remainder of the exhibition.

The sea between A and I 2014–2015

Louisa Bufardeci’s series of needlepoints The sea between A and I references locations in the Indian Ocean between Australia and Indonesia. Based on media reports about boat accidents that killed refugees on the journey from their homelands to seeking asylum in Australia, the artist researched the GPS coordinates of these incidents. She searched for the locations on Google Earth, looking for shapes that resemble human figures in the water. She took screenshots of the satellite images before turning them into needlepoint charts on gridded paper, to recreate with embroidery. Bufardeci often uses the traditional craft of embroidery in her works to transform statistics and data. Through her slow and careful process she provides us with a new view on important world events and political issues.

Do modern technologies and news media make us more sympathetic to the plight of others … or do they desensitise us through overexposure? How do world events, such as conflicts and refugee crises, affect you personally?

Due to NGV procedures regarding light sensitive objects, some works have been removed from display for the remainder of the exhibition.

Gladys Sym Choon c. 1920 2016, 2019 printed from the Aussie series 2016

Gladys Sym Choon is one of seven Australians whose portrait photographs Peter Drew found in the National Archives of Australia and turned into posters for his Aussie campaign, which draws attention to historical and contemporary xenophobia and racism. Choon applied for an exemption to a dictation test that was introduced as part of the White Australia policy in 1901. It required arrivals to Australia to write fifty words in any European language, as dictated by an immigration officer. After 1905, the officer could choose any language at all. A Chinese immigrant, for example, could be asked to write fifty words in French, Italian or another language. Even returning residents who were born in Australia like Gladys Sym Choon, who owned a store in Adelaide, could be asked to take the test, which would today be seen as racial discrimination and profiling.

Monga Khan 1916 2016, 2019 printed from the Aussie series 2016

Have you seen these portraits around the streets of Melbourne? In 2016, the Adelaide street artist Peter Drew travelled Australia to paste up 1000 posters of Monga Khan, who he calls an Aussie folk hero, as he says, ‘The photograph of Monga Khan was taken 100 years ago in Australia. He was one of thousands of people who applied for exemptions to the White Australia Policy. Cameleers, Hawkers and other traders were granted exemptions because their work was essential to Australian’s growing economy. For 70 years they played a crucial role … I’d like to celebrate their contribution to Australia’.

Our cultural heroes reflect our dominant social values, many of which change over time. What are the qualities that make a hero? Who are the heroes of our time, and who are the unsung heroes (heroic people whose stories are not widely known)?